Perfect Power: How the Microgrid Revolution Will Unleash Cleaner, Greener, More Abundant Energy

As buzz words like "smart power" and "green revolution" enter our lexicon, one can't help but wonder what the fuss is all about. In "Perfect Power," Galvin and Yeager explain where the current problem with our system of electricity management lies (It's woefully outdated.), and the solution that will make it a better functioning and up-to-date system (microgrids). The authors do a great job of introducing the concept to a cleantech neophyte, using analogies that explain the electric system infrastructure, citing historical examples with Thomas Alva Edison, highlighting the path to perfect power, describing the evolution of building technology, and their undertaking to put consumers at the controls. The bonus of this book is at the end of each chapter. Here the reader finds "Institutions and Companies to Watch" with a blurb on each company's contribution to the green movement and a web address for further research and reading. What the authors mention in the chapter has been pulled out from the reading, tidied up into list form, and provided as a tidbit for personal research. The glossary at the end of the reading is a good resource, as well, listing everything from a Switching Station to Substation, and from AC to Watt hour. "Perfect Power" opens and closes with the story of the 2006 power outage that occurred and how an event like this can be avoided if we had a better electricity management system. The excuses that power goes out due to a random thunderstorm or an errant squirrel are archaic in this day and time, and Galvin and Yeager have had enough. Through this book they bring the story of electricity from a global concern to a personal one. They close their argument for microgrids with the story of Dianne Odell, a casualty in the fight for reliable electricity.

Just when you thought you already had plenty to worry about, experts Robert Garvin and Kurt Yaeger, and writer Jay Stuller report that the U.S.'s electricity supply system is woefully outdated and in danger of widespread outages. Then, getAbstract is glad to report, their readable book also presents an apparently reasonable remedy: "microgrids." These smart, localized electrical networks conserve and store energy, and can redirect it to the parts of the electrical system that need it most. This bright proposal addresses a serious, but underreported problem. The authors, though perhaps more involved than most objective reporters, discuss electricity's scientific, social, economic and environmental impact. They make their solution more applicable and appealing by identifying companies that are developing microgrid technology. Unlike so many daunting problems, this one seems surmountable, if the U.S. - state by state - can muster the requisite funding and overcome the gooey regulatory status quo.

This is a great read for anyone who is interested in tracking the development of SmartGrid technology in the US.